![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/ATSU-AND-WIFE.jpeg\" "\\"ATSU-AND-WIFE\\"\/")
<\/div>\nChristian Atsu\u2019s partner, Marie-Claire Rupio, says she \u201chopes his name will never go away\u201d, six months after his tragic death.<\/p>\n
In an exclusive interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Rupio has spoken about the former Newcastle United and Ghana midfielder, who\u00a0lost his life\u00a0in the earthquakes that devastated parts of Turkey and Syria.<\/p>\n
The earthquakes claimed more than 50,000 lives with Atsu, 31, found dead under the rubble of his home in Antakya on 18 February, almost two weeks after the quakes.<\/p>\n
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He and Rupio had three children together, aged nine, six and three at the time of his loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it\u2019s very important that his name is still there, especially for the children, that he was known, that he was loved by everybody,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just hope that his name will never go away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to the media for the first time since his passing, Rubio describes the confusion over whether Atsu was safe, hearing about developments on the radio and the impact his death has had on her and their children.<\/p>\n
\u2018I was shocked, it was hard to believe\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Atsu was in Turkey having signed for Hatayspor last September, while his family remained in Newcastle.<\/p>\n Rupio last spoke with him on Saturday, 4 February, and because his team was playing Kasimpasa the next day, he planned to speak with her again on the Monday.<\/p>\n Atsu scored the game\u2019s only goal in stoppage time and his wife messaged to congratulate him. His reply to thank her would be the last contact they had.<\/p>\n On the Monday, Rupio heard about the earthquake on the radio while driving.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t believe that it could happen in a place [where] he would be,\u201d she said. \u201cAs a human being, you think this can\u2019t happen to you or anybody you love.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like \u2018he\u2019s fine and he will call\u2019. But then after a while his sister called and told me that his building had totally collapsed. I was shocked, it was hard to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n Subsequent news reports created confusion over what had happened with Atsu, who made 121 appearances for Newcastle between 2016 and 2021.<\/p>\n On 7 February his club\u2019s vice-president said he had been\u00a0\u201cremoved from the wreckage with injuries\u201d.<\/p>\n However, the following day his agent Nana Sechere said that\u00a0his whereabouts were yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n Rupio then\u00a0told BBC News she believed her husband was still alive\u00a0and appealed for more equipment to clear the rubble.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really read any news,\u201d said Rupio. \u201cI relied on his agent, Nana, and his sister.<\/p>\n \u201cOur children heard from their school that he has been found and then they came home and heard on the radio again that he hasn\u2019t been found. It wasn\u2019t nice, but I told them he might be found because you still want to believe [in] the positive outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n Being \u2018the rock\u2019 for their children<\/strong><\/p>\n Christian Atsu was known as \u2018father\u2019 by some of the children he supported in his native Ghana<\/em><\/p>\n Sechere was in the Hatay province to\u00a0monitor the search for Atsu\u00a0and later confirmed he had been found dead, after calling Rupio in the early hours of the morning to inform her.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t really cry because I was in shock,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to believe [it was true]. I think my body just shut down.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next morning the children had football and I didn\u2019t want to take that from them. After [that] I had to sit them down and explain it to them.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not easy. It\u2019s not something you would wish on anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n The pair met while Atsu was playing for Porto and he earned a move to Chelsea in 2013, although he did not make a first-team appearance for the Blues.<\/p>\n He had loan spells with Everton and Bournemouth before joining Newcastle, who Rupio said have \u201chelped me in every single way they could help\u201d, for which she is \u201cvery grateful\u201d.<\/p>\n She added that the Professional Footballers\u2019 Association have helped her find a therapist while her eldest son has had counselling at his school.<\/p>\n Rupio said that \u201che is the main one who is struggling because he has more memories\u201d and is \u201cnot really ready to talk about it\u201d.<\/p>\n Her younger son has talked about his father more and has been asking questions that \u201csometimes are very hard to answer\u201d.<\/p>\n Their daughter recently turned four and on her birthday \u201cshe asked when her dad is calling\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to be strong,\u201d she added. \u201cYou\u2019re allowed to show emotions, obviously, but you can\u2019t fall down.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to be the rock now for everybody. I do break down a lot of times, so it\u2019s not easy to balance everything.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018He wasn\u2019t just talented, he\u2019s been a good person as well\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Atsu made his international debut in 2012 and went on to win 65 caps for Ghana, helping the Black Stars reach the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final.<\/p>\n Ghana\u2019s all-time record goalscorer\u00a0Asamoah Gyan was among the many to pay tribute\u00a0to his former team-mate, and he is remembered for what he did off the field as much as he did on it.<\/p>\n Atsu supported an orphanage called Becky\u2019s Foundation, helping to turn a children\u2019s home in the Ghanaian coastal town of Senya Beraku into a school, and he was also a regular visitor, with\u00a0some of the children calling him \u201cfather\u201d.<\/p>\n A traditional week-long period of mourning was held after his body was returned to Ghana and he was\u00a0honoured with a state funeral\u00a0in the capital Accra, with Ghana\u2019s president among hundreds of people who paid their last respects.<\/p>\n \u201cHe helped a lot of charities, even in the UK,\u201d said his widow. \u201cHe\u2019s helped a lot of people in Ghana. You can\u2019t really talk just about [his] talent, he\u2019s been a good person as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people who are close do know that, even from the outside as well, they have seen it.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s built a school for children in Ghana and that\u2019s something that not everybody would do, if they have money.\u201d<\/p>\n READ ALSO<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/_130792243_atsu_children_smiling.jpg\")
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